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VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 2
sensitivity. Discrimination in the somatic system can be utilized for communication by the
nonverbal community. This is known as Haptic Perception, or a person's ability to identify
an object's properties using the sense of touch (Bushnell & Boudreau, 1998). Through
our work with students with visual impairments, we utilize the somatic system for a variety
of things such as reading Braille, communicating with object cards, creating tactile
pictures, etc. For students with visual impairments, this is often the most available body
system for them to use which usually makes it the most successful.
The Olfactory system uses chemical receptors in the nose that responds to
airborne chemicals making the human sense of smell (Faure & Richardson, 2002). At
first, this sense does not appear to aid in the student's ability to express wants or needs.
However, it does have major implications for scheduling and cue systems. This aids in
the prevention of anticipation reactions. At Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia,
a teacher was observed using jars with specific scents to identify the days of the week
with students who had multiple disabilities and were nonverbal. During circle time, when
children were asked to identify the day of the week, those nonverbal students with severe
disabilities would be presented with a jar with a distinct scent. It was used to communicate
to students what to expect. This was a big step in our research of communicating with
body systems. These students had limited use of their somatic system, vision, and overall
cognitive functioning. At Overbrook, they utilized the body system that was of best use to
them to communicate.
The Auditory system is the way sound is transmitted through the ear and to the
brain for interpretation. Hearing functions are primitive, such as awareness of biological
sounds like breathing, signal warning, such as the ability to monitor your environment,
